Group Pushes for Housing Sacramento’s Homeless Using San Antonio Model

SACRAMENTO -- Haven for Hope Sacramento said they hope to bring a model that's thriving in San Antonio, Texas, to their city.

A feeling of duty to neighbors in need has grown a group of about 10 to 100 people who have been working for almost six months and looking to solve a problem that has confounded municipalities the world over -- homelessness.

"We'd be much better off with a model that can gather all of the local nonprofits together, house hundreds, hundreds of people at a time," said Chris Jones with Sacramento’s chapter of Haven for Hope.

Speaker after speaker pushed the Haven for Hope concept at the Sacramento City Council meeting Tuesday.

Council members voted to pursue two temporary shelters the group feels divide resources and lack the needed economies of scale offered by San Antonio's 1,700-person center.

The mayor said he would keep an open mind.

"I'm looking forward to going to San Antonio with you,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg.

“One step at a time. It's called faith," said Jill Booth Macdonell with Haven for Hope Sacramento.

Sacramento's newly approved shelter sites will be Sprung tents built with almost $8 million of one-time money. That outlay combined with $23 million for another shelter planned in a downtown hotel has the group frustrated.

"The phrase ‘oh, at least we're doing something’ or ‘it's better to do something than nothing’ doesn't hold true if you're blowing through precious, one-time funds that could be used for a permanent solution," said Mike Day with Haven for Hope Sacramento.